The First Days Back in Spanish Class

The conversations are rolling about how to start the year in a CI/TPRS classroom. While I may not be perfect, this routine has worked fantastically for the last three years. I am the department of one in a high school so I know 3/4 of my students every year as they come back; I do believe this can work in middle school as well. For the elementary teachers, I offer no advice and believe you are a special breed of angel sent to work with young children. May the force be with you.

My simple answer to how to start the year is: teach your subject from day 1.

Here is how I plan it.

Steps to planning

1. If your school says you have to introduce certain things, do that.
2. Find out, 100%, what is your school's policy about dropping/adding/switching classes.
3. Teach rules and expectations in English: These should never be unclear in any way or leave room for "I didn't understand that".

The have-to's

I am a person who lives on the edge of "I will do what's best for my students" and "I still want to keep my job". Luckily, for the most part, I have had supportive administrators that allow me to flirt with that line and keep me in-check.

If your school requires you to preview a syllabus, do it.
If you have to rehearse and highlight emergency procedures, do it.

While you may think, "Oh, I'll do that next week. My plan is so much better," you are lying to yourself. Your plans are always better than the routine reminders, but you will forget to overview it and it is important.

Example: At my old school we had 8 period days with 48 minute classes. I taught Spanish 1 and exploratory. Students had the first 4 days to switch classes. We were also not allowed to give homework or "significant" in-class work to accommodate late schedule changes. Day 1- Required syllabus and class materials review. Introduction activity. Day 2- Required emergency procedure review (tornado, lock-down, fire, etc). Teacher naming students activity. Day 3- Required handbook policy review as selected by principal. Webquest on Spanish speaking countries. Day 4- Required (at our choice) team-building exercises. 

School policy on class changes

This is a big one. This should determine your first week's plan. You need to offer insight to the course expectations to your students and give them a genuine taste of class. If all you get through before the end of the changing classes window is a syllabus and one fun activity you will have students in your classes that may not be ready or as committed as they need to be.

My Light-bulb Example 

From my required days listed above, this was great for community building, but at mid-term I had a student come up to me in tears because class was too hard and she wasn't expecting to have to use and listen to "that much Spanish" (this was a very loaded situation). After that private conversation and midterms, I polled the class; over 90% were happy with where their grades, but over half said they didn't realize how much work it was going to be since the first days were "super fun and easy".

What I do now... and will in 7 days

Currently I teach high school in a block schedule and students have three days to change classes. Because of the order they are seen, it is possible that I don't see a student until day 3 or 4 (this has happened a handful of times).


My number 1 suggestion: teach from day 1 like it is a normal class. My Spanish 1 students walk-in and I only speak in Spanish for the first half of class; they've never had Spanish exploratory. I have them line up ("haz una linea" and I point and motion like a crazy woman). They get it every time. I also have a seating chart done before they walk in the door, I can make changes as needed. I model introductions by playing two people and then write it on the board phonetically (Oh-la, may yam-oh Profe). When the students catch-on, they say it quickly and and show them their seats. Once they all sit down, I go into English and high-five all of them for being awesome Spanish speakers. **I am aware this is not 100% CI/TPRS friendly, but it easily sets expectations of behavior among themselves, between myself and the students, and that they will survive.

My English portion is handing out a welcome letter that introduces the class expectations that both the parent/guardian and the student sign and turn-into me. I don't review it with them. They can read it on their own time.

Then back into Spanish we go. I play the super catchy "buenos dias" song from YouTube and have them join in. The second class we start the exact same way and then we play a pair-dance-switch game; they LOVE it every year and sing it to me in the halls... which gets the upperclassmen singing it too. Spanish 1 goes directly into cognates and then into a "manners game" were they get a small candy by saying "por favor" and "gracias" to each other for 3 minutes straight and exchange the candies hidden in their fists.

For Spanish 2, 3, and 4, they also have to do introductions and we start right away into "real learning". Spanish 2 typically goes into story telling, then asking, then a mini "mi verano" book project, and a novel by the start of week 3 (which is class 6 for us). Spanish 3 and 4 start with review projects plus a novel (see my post here with a freebie).

Rules and Syllabus

I assume they know at this point how to behave in a classroom and they will choose to do so, because I expect it from the moment they walk in the door. I also do not have any "required" information to review with each class (we do that with our 15 minute homeroom time in the AM).

Week one: I teach my expectations as they are needed, in English.
 

Week two: I go over my serious rules (this is a judge-free zone, give it a try, ask for help or tell me to slow down) and syllabus with students in English.

I normally hand out a quick "calendar" of the quarter or semester with quiz dates and grading period deadlines. They can add things in as we get there.

Behavior expectations

I truly believe that if you start class with rules you become a dictator rather than an educator; especially at the high school level. We need to trust students that they know how to act and just expect them to do it.

My other major piece of advice is: do not let students get away with any form of poor behavior the 1st quarter when you have new students. Be tough but loving. Being firm makes them know you are keeping them accountable for being young adults. My upperclassmen will walk into one of my classes and even give younger kids the stink-eye if they are sharpening a pencil while someone else is talking or if they break into English. I never taught these rules, but they just pick-up it is part of respect.

Model the behavior and consistently expect it. Foremost, do it with love. If you don't at least tell yourself you like all your kids, it's going to be a long year with no report or respect. Always give love and respect before they've "earned it". They are humans, they deserve it.

Also, do behavior correction in English. If you need to, send the kid to the hall to remove him/her from the audience (here is a link to my behavior accountability form), I have them complete the form, and then I check-in when I'm ready, quick chat, and we walk back in with a clean slate.  

Avoid sending kids to the office (unless it is physical/verbal violence). Sending kids to the office doesn't build a report with them, and it says "you are beyond my ability and/or care". You do care, you can't "deal with" unwarranted behavior in that moment because you are teaching, not because that student isn't important. In the last 6 years I have sent 3 kids to the office (once cussed out another student, one flipped a desk into my body while I was pregnant- she was high-, and the third walked-in while I was a sub and kicked another student in the gut). Sending them to the hall and the student knowing they will be contacting their parents with me the next time they have an issue seems to deter all of it.


I hope this is helpful and you have the best year yet, or at least one coffee and donuts can comfort.

-Sam